A Twist In The Grimm Fairy Tales
by Alaizabel Marks
Summary: My version of the Grimm tales.


I was not always Rumplestiltskin, the despicable imp that everyone knows and hates. Long ago I was a kind, loving father that wet by the name of Gaelan. That all came to an abrupt end when my daughter, Jye, died of a rare, yet fatal disease called Greinerosis. After three weeks of vomiting, fevers, muscles spasms, and hallucinating, my sweet little Jye died in her sleep.

That night, just as I kissed my daughter for the last time, a strange woman dressed in grayish- silver, knocked on my door. I will always remember what that woman, that fairy told, me

"Gaelan Cutler, you have had many devastations throughout your life. Because of your struggles, my people and I have decided to make you a magical being, There are two rules to magic; you cannot make someone fall in love, and you cannot bring the dead back to life. The final thing about being magical is that you must change your name. The elders took the liberty of choosing a name for you. Your new name is Rumplestiltskin. The only way you can die is if someone guesses your real name. Remember to use magic cautiously."

That night every aspect of my life changed. Over the years my appearance was altered due to my use of magic. I turned pale and thin. My hair lost all of its color, my eyes became black as coal. I began making deals with people in order to get what I wanted.I will never regret my deal with the miller's daughter, Calissa.

One day I was in the center of our small, poor town, looking for some pitiful fool in dire need of a deal. There were men who lost the deeds to the houses, prostitutes who were pregnant and needed abortions. Nothing of interest, until the town miller ran into the king.

"How dare you run into me?" Bellowed the king.

"I'm- I'm sorry sire," the miller stammered.

"For being so careless you shall to be hung by the neck until you are dead, and may the Lord have mercy on your soul."

The miller pleaded, "No,no, no, please don't kill me. I- I- I can make it up to you. I'll- I'll give you my daughter."

The king laughed a deep laugh, "Your daughter?"

The miller nodded, "Yes, she's a very hard worker, and- and- she can spin straw into gold."

"Gold, you say?" the king's eyebrows rose.

The king agreed to have the daughter spin straw into gold for three nights. If the miller was lying, both he and his daughter were to be put to death.

The king cleared his throat, and grabbed the attention of the whole town, "If she can spin straw into gold she will be burned at the stake for witchery… that is, unless she can get Prince Xavier to fall in love with her."

The thin, brown-haired, fragile looking girl looked as if she were about to cry, but half of the town was already doing so for her. She was known as one of the kindest souls in the village.

Later that night, I popped in on Calissa for a little visit.

"Well, looks like you've settled in quite nicely," I said sarcastically.

She jumped out of her skin, and spun around, "You! You're- you're- you're that- that imp that makes deals with people to get them out of trouble… but no one knows your name."

I smiled "That's because I don't let them know my name. And as for the name 'Imp', I don't like titles, so let's drop them.

She nodded, "So, why are you here?"

I rolled my eyes, "Why do you think? To give you a puppy for your birthday?"

"Why would I make a deal with you?" She scowled at me.

I shook my head, "I don't think you should. There's no point really. If you lie about your abilities then you die. If you can spin straw into gold then you're killed for witchcraft. Either way, you're dead."

Calissa pursed her lips, "Is there way you could change King Acten's mind?"

"Love, that's the one thing I'm forbidden to do. Now I _could_ spin the straw into gold for you."

"Why, so I can die a slow and painful death?" She whined/

I sighed, "For God's sake woman, no! So you can focus on getting the prince to fall in love with you."

"And what would I have to do for you?" She glared at me.

"You can give me a payment per night. Tonight, that pretty little necklace will," I smiled greedily.

"This? It was my grandmother's," she held and amethyst heart necklace gingerly.

I shrugged, "It's that, or you die a liar."

She rolled her eyes, and tossed the necklace to me, "Okay, here."

I smiled, "I'm glad to see that you're coming to your senses."

Tears filled her green eyes, "Shut up. Just shut up."

I laughed, "You think you have it so bad, don't you? Sorry, love, your life isn't that bad."

"How do you know?" She asked nastily.

"Calissa, at the age of five my father died at war, and I became the man of the house. My mother died of a bad heart when I was nineteen. I remember crying out in pain as she lived out her last minutes on Earth. Then, I got married, and for the first time I was happy. Four years later we had a baby girl, and my wife died in childbirth. I only had my daughter, Jye, for six years. Three weeks after her sixth birthday she fell sick, and she died three weeks later.

Calissa's scowl dissolved into a sad frown, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I had know idea."

It was my turn to glare at her, "It doesn't do to assume anything, love. It makes an ass out of you and me.

The rest of the night Calissa and I didn't talk. In the morning there was a loud knock on the mahogany door.

With a spin I was invisible, listening to the King, the prince, and Calissa.

"I'm impressed," said the prince.

"Really?" She smiled.

"Yes. You spun four straw plies into gold. I think we should add two more piles on top of that. What do you think father?" the prince asked.

The king nodded his head slightly

Calissa's eyebrows rose in shock, "What?!"

The king shrugged his box-like shoulders, "It's your problem, not our. Come along son."

"I'll be just a second father," the prince said. "I'm sorry. My father and I were talking about how to make things harder for you. If you were lying we would've hung you at Dead Man's Tree."

She nodded, "And if I succeed you'll keep adding piles, until the fourth morning, when I'm burned at the stake."

Xavier shook his head, "I won't let that happen. I'll marry you either way. I will never let an innocent person be burned alive."

Calissa rolled her eyes, "Yes because faking a relationship is always how I wanted to get married.

"Well, no man will want you now that it's out that you can perform such magic." The prince sneered and bared his pearly whites, "Right, well if you don't want my help I guess I'll let you die then."

She was on the verge of tears, "Don't go."

I smiled at Calissa's attempt to call him back, and with a twirl I left, leaving Calissa to her mission.

Later that night, I came in and when the door swung open I disappeared into thin air. Once Calissa and I were alone I talked, "So, how're you and the prince?"

Her face flushed red, "He's a jerk. I hate him. He actually threw water on me because I accidently stepped on his foot."

I laughed, "I thought all princes were supposed to be charming?"

She shook her head, "Not this one. Today I caught him kissing himself in the mirror… literally. He's rude, arrogant, and conceited."

"So, what are you going to do?" I asked.

She sighed, "I'm going to marry him."

I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, that leaves us with your payment. What's it going to be tonight?"

She handed me her mother's black, satin hand-me- down shoes.

With a snap they disappeared. All that night I worked, spinning, lost in my thoughts.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," I said as she got up.

I treated her to a succulent breakfast, my treat. I found she didn't have energy to do much living on only bread and water.

We talked and I learned about her life with her father. She always talked about what a great man he was. She also mentioned how he loved to drink, and how when he would drink he would do crazy things, like telling the king she could spin straw into gold. She said that because of his problem they never had any money. Only enough to have one measly meal a day. Calissa told me that she was only sixteen, and she really wasn't ready to marry yet, but she still wanted to live.

Later on that day, I spied on the miller. When I looked inside their small cottage I saw him dancing with a smile on his face. He was singing about how happy he was that Calissa was going to die.

A strange heat welled up in my chest. My heart raced as I heard his words echo in my mind.

I busted the cabin door down, and the miller stopped in his tracks.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Rumplestiltskin." I growled and in an instant the miller laid on the floor, mutilated, and better yet, dead. All of his bloody organs laid out on the floor, yet his body remained unscarred.

I stormed off into the thick, green forest, a plan forming in my head.

Calissa beamed at me when I came in, "Thanks to you the prince will ask me to marry him. Then I can collect my father and we can all live in this beautiful palace."

Her smile faltered when she saw my face, "What is it?"

I told her the terrible thing I saw her father do, and then what I did.

She shook her head in denial, "That can't' be true. He's the only parent I've ever known."

"Calissa I'm s-"

She cut me off, "You monster! You foul creature! You- You- You IMP!" She crashed onto her hay cot sobbing. "Go away! I'd rather die than be helped by you!"

With many mixed feelings, I left, piles untouched, and Calissa's heart broken.

Hours later I went back, only to find her fast asleep. I worked on the piles and got done hours early, so I stoked the fire and laid Calissa's belongings beside her.

After she stretched she took one look at me and sneered, "I thought I told you to leave."

"I did, love, then I came back," I smirked.

She rolled her eyes, "What do you want?"

"To talk. To explain. To justify."

She crossed her arms, "So talk."

I sighed, "I'd rather show you. Take my hand."

In an instant we went from the dungeon to her petite cottage the day before.

"This is my memory," I said. "Watch."

I pointed to the window, where the miller could be seen dancing.

When the scene was done we were back in the cold, damp dungeon.

Calissa's eyes filled with tears, "What kind of father would want that?"  
I shook my head and asked the question that had been on my mind all night, "Do you really want to marry Prince Xavier?"

She shook her head and let her tears fall to the floor.

"I know what your last payment can be, but only if you agree to it," I said quietly.

Her eyebrows creased, "What's that?"

I sighed, and prepared to be turned down, "How would you like to be my adopted daughter?"

"Do you mean it?" She asked.

I nodded.

She smiled and exclaimed, "Then let's go home."

Before we left I snapped my finger and all the gold vanished. With another snap a note appeared that read:

Dear Prince Xavier,

Thank you so much for your kind offer, but I must turn it down. You see, I'm going home, to live out my days as a free, happy, sixteen-year-old should. I hope you understand,

Best Wishes,

Calissa

The moment we heard the prince threw a fit, and began to look for Calissa, we left town, making deals all over the world. I'm still making deals today, even though my little girl is happily married with a baby on the way. I'm the happiest man in the world, especially when I've got a job to do. So, do you want to make a deal?


End file.
